Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey

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Here's our first screens and movie of Take 2's next budget-priced pinball game. It's very cheap!

By IGN Staff

If you're into playing pinball games on your PC or console, then the chances are that you're a big fan of Empire Interactive. Why do we say that? Well, because Empire is without a doubt the king of pinball PC and videogames. The company's Pro Pinball series has been a longtime staple of the genre and each new game in the series always manages to receive recognition as one of the best of its kind and continues to push the pinball simulations to new limits.

PlayStation pinball fans have likely already picked up Empire's Pro Pinball Big Race USA, which was released just a little while ago for $9.99 as one of Take 2 Interactive's budget-priced titles. If not, you've missed one of the premiere pinball games available on the system. As good as Big Race USA is, the company's follow-up title, Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey, manages to surpass its predecessor in style, design and playability.

While Fantastic Journey is limited to a single pinball table just like Big Race USA, it's a damn good pinball table. It features a Jules Verne-inspired design and plenty of cool little gadgets placed all over to board to give it an added flair. There are only three table views, but each gives the players a fantastic view of the action and is extremely pleasant on the eyes.

Hardcore pinball fans have always loved Empire's titles because they are simulations of the real thing in every shape and form. The ball physics, to the movement and the collisions are all dead on and when you make real-life adjustments to the table, such as adjusting the incline of the board, it effects the speed and movement of the silver ball accordingly. The game plays out just like it would if you were playing a real pinball machine with the exact same setup.

If you don't mind the fact that the game is limited to single table, this is definitely a must-have title for pinball enthusiasts. And at the budget price of $9.99, it's not like you're giving away an arm and a leg for the title, as spending ten bucks on a single pinball machine at an arcade over a long period of time isn't something that never happens.

Real pinball action lands squarely in your living room with PRO PINBALL: Fantastic Journey. It's just like the arcade tables, right down to the buzzers, bumpers, hells, and ramps but you can pray sitting down in this version. There are lots of quests and journeys on this table, and each requires the use of spinners, buttons, multi-ball play, and more in order to rack up the points. You can ¿nudge' the machine just like in real life, but you can also get a ¿tilt,' which can be costly. Forget the arcade--PRO PINBALL: Fantastic Journey is better.